Effect of Pressure Decatizing on Fabric Drape

Abstract

The effect of pressure decatizing on the draping properties of wool suiting fabrics is investigated across a range of typical decatizing conditions. The study shows that fabric drape depends on fabric mechanical properties, decatizing conditions, and fabric history. Analysis of the drape of a range of pure wool suiting fabrics shows that the fabric drape coefficient depends more strongly on bending length than on shear rigidity, factors that are established through cloth construction. However the effect of pressure decatizing on the fabric drape coefficient is more closely associated with changes in shear rigidity rather than bending length. Pressure decatizing has more effect on the drape of undyed fabrics than dyed ones. The drape of dyed fabrics changes only slightly after pressure decatizing, but the drape coefficient of dyed fabrics is still less than undyed fabrics, even after pressure decatizing. These results are consistent with a model including setting (stress relaxation) and allowing for a change of yarn geometry during dyeing. Small increases in the shear rigidity of dyed fabrics after pressure decatizing are consistent with the effect of lateral pressure on the fabric during decatizing.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

1. Cusick, G. E. , The Dependence of Fabric Drape on Bending and Shear Stiffness, J. Textile Inst. 56, T596–T606 (1965).

2. Cook, J. R. , and Fleischfresser, B. R. , Dimensional Changes Resulting from Pressure-Decatizing of Wool Fabric, J. Textile Inst. 80, 120–128 (1989).

3. de Jong, S., and Tester, D. H., Physics of Worsted Finishing, in “The Application of Mathematics and Physics in the Wool Industry,” WRONZ Special Pub. No. 6, 1988, pp. 514-525.

4. Fabric Assurance by Simple Testing, Instruction Manual, CSIRO Division of Wool Technology, 1990.

5. Grosberg, P. , The Mechanical Properties of Woven Fabrics, Part V: The Initial Modulus and the Frictional Restraint in Shearing of Plain Weave Fabrics, Textile Res. J. 36, 420–432 (1966).

6. Jeong, Y. J. , Study on the Fabric Drape Behaviour with Image Analysis, Part I: Measurement, Characterisation and Instability, J. Textile Inst. 89, 59–69 (1998).

7. Le, C. V. , Tester, D. H. , Ly, N. G. , and de Jong, S. , Changes in Fabric Mechanical Properties After Pressure Decatizing as Measured by FAST, Textile Res. J. 64, 61–69 (1994).

8. Lord, P. R. , and Mohamed, M. H. , “Weaving Conversion of Yarn to Fabric,” Merron Technical Library, U.K., 1982.

9. Ly, N. G., The Role of Friction in Fabric Bending, in “Proc. Third Japan-Australia Joint Symp. on Objective Measurement: Application to Product Design and Process Control,” Kyoto, Japan, 1985, pp. 481-488.

10.

10. Olofsson, B. , The Setting of Wool Fabric—A Theoretical study, J. Textile Inst. 52, T272–T290 (1961).

11.

11. Postle, J. R. , and Postle, R. , Fabric Bending and Drape Using Objective Measurement, Int. J. Cloth. Sci. Technol. 4(5), 7-15 (1992).